In mobile standardization, a freeze is a milestone after which a defined part of the specifications is treated as stable. Engineers can then implement against a known set of requirements and protocols instead of redesigning products every time a working group makes a new proposal.
There are different freezes, not one universal date. A requirements freeze stabilizes what the system must do; an architecture freeze stabilizes the broad design; a protocol or functional freeze stabilizes detailed behavior. A later ASN.1 or OpenAPI freeze locks down machine-readable interfaces that implementations depend on.
For 3GPP Release 21, the approved plan includes a Stage-3 functional freeze in December 2028 and an ASN.1/OpenAPI freeze in March 2029. Those are scheduled standards milestones, not confirmed commercial 6G launch dates. Manufacturers still need to develop, test and certify equipment afterward.
Read any announcement carefully to see which stage froze and which parts are still being revised. A code freeze makes implementation more predictable; it does not prove that devices are ready, networks are deployed or every feature will work as advertised.